MR ROC 2010
It is arguably the top honour any ROCer can receive.
So difficult is this honour to achieve that the clubs greatest player in Marcus Trimboli retired without experiencing the prestige this award bestows upon an individual. It is not the Best and Fairest trophy, nor is it the highly sought after Halliwell Menswear Best Team Man award. Paul Shaftenaar would think it to be the Most Courageous player award, however Shafty was never courageous enough to take home the red jacket…
This honour is not for the faint hearted, and as such, during a few lean years it was decided that perhaps it was best to retire the jacket until someone of worth came along.
The last Mr ROC was held in 2007. After much deliberation, a decision was made that after two years in hibernation the time was right for its illustrious return.
On 15 May 2010 after fantastic wins by the A and C Grades against Walkerville, Mr ROC returned. The contestants were young, wide-eyed and fancy free and were clearly unaware of the perils that competing for Mr ROC held. The brave souls were James ‘Jimmy’ Jordan, Johnny ‘Sweaty’ Whetlor, Damien ‘Damo’ Moyle, Tom ‘Thunder Pig’ Deegan and Tim ‘Feliicchhe’ Felice. Five solid contestants indeed, but the field was further strengthened (or weakened depending on your perspective) by the last minute inclusion of the experienced Brad ‘Tapson’ Green.
The 6 rounds consisting of a hypothetical Q&A, maximum push-ups, skull-off, best pick-up line, group dance-off and the individual strip-tease provided hilarious entertainment for the 60+ strong crowd. Judged by Victoria, Deanna, Emma, Chelsea, Helena and Nads, each contestant gave their best as they progressively became more and more inebriated throughout the night. With Barnsey adding further value through his betting service and Bridgey’s arm wrestling competition, the night was a huge success.
There could only be one man standing at the end of the night, and although all the contestants were clearly unable to function and some were probably a bit over zealous late in proceedings, the judges awarded the prestigious red jacket to English import, Johnny Whetlor with Jimmy Jordan a long way back in second place. Johnny’s win was made all the more impressive because the field of men desperate to go down in Mr ROC history was clearly one of the strongest ever and he had spent the entire week in bed with glandular fever.
Mr ROC is most certainly the most difficult, taxing, emotional roller coaster that any one person can experience. There were mixed feelings of elation and devastation at the end of the night. Exhausted third place getter, Tom Deegan was clearly an emotional wreck and was heard to say “I don’t know what else I could have done, I gave that all I had”. Tommy and the others can take solace in the fact that they gave their best, and if Mr ROC were easy to win, then words such as prestige, honour and mateship wouldn’t be synonymous with what the award and the red jacket represents.
Thanks to all that helped make this a successful night. I would particularly like to thank the judges who will no doubt have unwanted images of gratuitous male nudity burnt into their retinas for some time to come and the contestants for giving their best and being willing to put it all on the line, for without you, there is no Mr ROC or club spirit.
Birchy
